AI Summary
5 min readA Real Snake Kind of Move
Ketel Marte no-showed a game. Didn't go to the ballpark. Left the team. The Diamondbacks didn't know where he was. He turned up at a casino during a game. His manager, Torey Lovullo, said he felt "betrayed." And now Arizona is targeting next week for Marte's return, with Lovullo saying the organization wants to create the "softest space possible" for him to come back.
That contradiction is the center of the first and longest segment of this hour of the Ben Maller Show. Maller frames it as a master class in organizational dysfunction. Marte was initially placed on the restricted list—baseball's "naughty list"—then moved to the 10-day injured list for what the team called "very mild inflammation" in his left knee, which Maller calls a transparent fabrication. Marte has not addressed his unexplained absence to the team. And yet the Diamondbacks are "fluffing the pillows," turning down the room temperature, doing whatever it takes to make him comfortable.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (03:05) **Hour 3 Kickoff: Baseball-Heavy Topics Preview** - Ben Maller teases the three main segments: Ketel Marte’s no-show drama in Arizona, the Padres’ new ownership press conference, and Astros manager Joe Espada’s uncertain future.
- 2 (06:14) **Ketel Marte Saga: Desertion and a “Soft Space” Return** - Maller details how Marte no-showed a game, was placed on the restricted list, and is now being welcomed back by the Diamondbacks with what manager Torey Lovullo called a “soft space.”
- 3 (13:02) **Padres New Owners: Empty Promises or Real Hope?** - Maller analyzes the introductory press conference of new Padres controlling owners Jose Feliciano and Kwanzaa Jones, who bought the team for $3.9 billion.
- 4 (18:51) **Astros’ Dysfunction: Joe Espada as a Lame-Duck Manager** - Maller reports that manager Joe Espada has been told he won’t be offered a new contract after 2026, making him a “fired in waiting” skipper for the final stretch.
- 5 (24:38) **Maller Riddle of the Day: Cowboys’ Industrial-Sized Request** - Maller poses the riddle: Cowboys offensive coordinator Clayton Adams lobbied Jerry Jones to add an industrial-sized blank for the coaching staff.
- 6 (33:32) **Caller Segment: Big Daddy on 49ers Owner’s Scandal** - A caller named Big Daddy discusses the 49ers owner’s internet scandal, offering advice on how to avoid trouble when seeking companionship.
- 7 (36:56) **Maller’s Mountain Money Game Setup** - Maller seeks contestants for his trivia game, eventually pairing Slug (from Vegas) with Coop against Tyler (from Boston) for a Sean Connery edition.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Ben Maller talks about Ketel Marte of the Diamondbacks going from leaving his manager feeling "betrayed" and then getting welcomed back into a "soft space", if Padres fans are being sold a bill of goods with all this "we're all in" talk from the new owners, Maller's Mountain of Money: Sean Connery Edition, and more!
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